Threefold Architects were appointed by Croydon’s Brick by Brick to create a new housing scheme in New Addington comprising a Garden Mews of six houses set within a landscaped masterplan.

The site for A Garden Mews is typical of those allocated with Croydon’s Brick by Brick masterplan. The combination of limited access, unusual shape and relatively small scale required more time and a greater degree of inventiveness that would ordinarily be deployed by a developer. Access to the site is problematic and a traditional approach to housing would result in small north facing gardens. Although a semi-rural site adjacent to the green belt, the immediate context is relatively hard and suburban.

Inspired by the strengths of a traditional mews arrangement we have created a large garden in which 6 terraced houses are sited, with a shared external space that all of the proposed houses face onto and through which the site is accessed.

We have flipped the traditional back garden/front garden model of typical housing therefore fostering a feeling of community whilst retaining privacy through the use of a staggered footprint. Creative use of hard and soft landscaping give definition to the site and help separate public and private spaces. A sensitive increase in density increases profitability and the economic viability of the scheme.